Marta Sanz-Mas, Mònica Ubalde-López, Sílvia Borràs, Sílvia Brugueras, Xavier Continente, Carolyn Daher, Marc Marí-Dell'Olmo, María José López
{"title":"Adapting Schools to Climate Change with Green, Blue, and Grey Measures in Barcelona: Study Protocol of a Mixed-Method Evaluation.","authors":"Marta Sanz-Mas, Mònica Ubalde-López, Sílvia Borràs, Sílvia Brugueras, Xavier Continente, Carolyn Daher, Marc Marí-Dell'Olmo, María José López","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00814-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11524-023-00814-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Under the framework of the Urban Innovative Actions program of the European Commission, in 2020, 11 primary schools in Barcelona were transformed into climate shelters by implementing green, blue, and grey measures. Schoolyards were also opened to the local community to be used during non-school periods. Here we present the study protocol of a mixed-method approach to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions in terms of improving environmental quality and health for users. We evaluated school level through the following: (1) quantitative pre-post quasi-experimental study, and (2) qualitative evaluation. The quantitative study included measures of (a) environmental variables (collected via low-cost and non-low-cost sensors), (b) students' health and well-being (collected via health questionnaires, attention levels test, and systematic observations), and (c) teachers' health and well-being (collected via thermal comfort measurements and health questionnaires). The qualitative methods evaluated the perceptions about the effects of the interventions among students (using Photovoice) and teachers (through focus groups). The impact of the interventions was assessed at community level during summer non-school periods through a spontaneous ethnographic approach. Data collection started in August 2019 and ended in July 2022. The evaluation provides the opportunity to identify those solutions that worked and those that need to be improved for future experiences, as well as improve the evaluation methodology and replication for these kinds of interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"141-154"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10897086/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139484390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrew G Rundle, Remle P Crowe, Henry E Wang, John R Beard, Alexander X Lo
{"title":"A National Study on the Comparative Burden of Pedestrian Injuries from Falls Relative to Pedestrian Injuries from Motor Vehicle Collisions.","authors":"Andrew G Rundle, Remle P Crowe, Henry E Wang, John R Beard, Alexander X Lo","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00815-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11524-023-00815-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pedestrian injuries from falls are an understudied cause of morbidity. Here, we compare the burden of pedestrian injuries from falls occurring on streets and sidewalks with that from motor vehicle collisions. Data on injurious falls on streets and sidewalks, and pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions, to which Emergency Medical Services responded, along with pedestrian and incident characteristics, were identified in the 2019 National Emergency Medical Services Information System database. In total, 118,520 injurious pedestrian falls and 33,915 pedestrians-motor vehicle collisions were identified, with 89% of the incidents occurring in urban areas. Thirty-two percent of pedestrians struck by motor vehicles were coded as Emergent or Critical by Emergency Medical Services, while 19% of pedestrians injured by falls were similarly coded. However, the number of pedestrians whose acuity was coded as Emergent or Critical was 2.1 times as high for injurious falls as compared with pedestrians-motor vehicle collisions. This ratio was 3.9 for individuals 50 years and older and 6.1 for those 65 years and older. In conclusion, there has been substantial and appropriate policy attention given to preventing pedestrian injuries from motor vehicles, but disproportionately little to pedestrian falls. However, the population burden of injurious pedestrian falls is significantly greater and justifies an increased focus on outdoor falls prevention, in addition to urban design, policy, and built environment interventions to reduce injurious falls on streets and sidewalks, than currently exists across the USA.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"181-192"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10897068/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139486711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katleen Van den Broeck, Leontien Bielen, Hilde Maelstaf, Kaatje Van Roy, Alexis Versele
{"title":"Well-being Effects of a Subsidy Retention Fund for Renovation of Dwellings of Locked-in Owners in Ghent.","authors":"Katleen Van den Broeck, Leontien Bielen, Hilde Maelstaf, Kaatje Van Roy, Alexis Versele","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00793-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11524-023-00793-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>With its subsidy retention fund, the city of Ghent targets homeowners, who live in a dwelling of bad quality and do not have the resources to renovate or move out. Being in this no-choice situation, they are locked-in homeowners. Through this innovative policy instrument, Ghent aims to improve the quality of its housing stock targeting households who may not take up other renovation-encouraging instruments. To reach the households who would otherwise not be able to renovate, important efforts in outreaching and offering technical and social guidance accompany the renovation subsidy. Guidance activities substantially increase the cost of the instrument, but in reaching the households living in bad-quality houses, it has the potential to create major benefits not only technically but also socially as housing quality is related to well-being. Generally, the identification of a causal relationship is difficult as well-being and its mediators are complex matters. This case offered a unique opportunity to collect information from the beneficiaries on a range of well-being domains both before the renovation of their dwelling and after the renovation. Even though the research was restricted to short-term effects, the results suggest that improvements in different domains of well-being can be linked to the improvement of housing quality. These improvements in well-being in Ghent show that (local) government spending in housing renovation of locked-in homeowners can be an instrument to achieve social progress.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"170-180"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10897071/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiarun Mi, Xueyan Han, Man Cao, Zhaoyang Pan, Jian Guo, Dengmin Huang, Wei Sun, Yuanli Liu, Tao Xue, Tianjia Guan
{"title":"The Association Between Urbanization and Electrocardiogram Abnormalities in China: a Nationwide Longitudinal Study.","authors":"Jiarun Mi, Xueyan Han, Man Cao, Zhaoyang Pan, Jian Guo, Dengmin Huang, Wei Sun, Yuanli Liu, Tao Xue, Tianjia Guan","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00816-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11524-023-00816-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The health effects of urbanization are controversial. The association between urbanization and reversible subclinical risks of cardiovascular diseases (e.g., electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities) has rarely been studied. This study aimed to assess the association between urbanization and ECG abnormalities in China based on the China National Stroke Screening Survey (CNSSS). We used changes in the satellite-measured impervious surfaces rate and nighttime light data to assess the level of urbanization. Every interquartile increment in the impervious surfaces rate or nighttime light was related to a decreased risk of ECG abnormalities, with odds ratios of 0.894 (95% CI, 0.869-0.920) or 0.809 (95% CI, 0.772-0.847), respectively. And we observed a U-shaped nonlinear exposure-response relationship curve between the impervious surfaces rate and ECG abnormalities. In conclusion, the current average level of urbanization among the studied Chinese adults remains a beneficial factor for reducing cardiovascular risks.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"109-119"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10897075/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139433107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Karen R Flórez, Neil S Hwang, Maria Hernández, Sandra Verdaguer, Kathryn P Derose, Kayla de la Haye
{"title":"Vulnerability or Resiliency? A Two-Wave Panel Analysis of Social Network Factors Associated with Glycemic Levels among Mexican Immigrants in the Bronx, NYC, Before and During COVID-19.","authors":"Karen R Flórez, Neil S Hwang, Maria Hernández, Sandra Verdaguer, Kathryn P Derose, Kayla de la Haye","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00825-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11524-023-00825-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Latinos have high rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) yet are characterized as having health-promoting social networks. The impacts of COVID-19 on personal networks were complex, especially in urban areas with high proportion of immigrants such as the Bronx in NYC. Our objective was to test the extent to which network characteristics increase vulnerability or resiliency for glycemic control based on data gathered from Mexican-origin Bronx dwellers. We used two-wave panel study analyzing self-reported personal social networks (n=30<sub>participants</sub>; 600<sub>network members</sub>) and HbA1c levels via dried blood spots in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, a time after initial lockdowns and when the pandemic was still ravaging the community of study. Regression models adjusted for individual-level variables including sociodemographic and health indicators (i.e., physical health including COVID-19 and mental health). We found that an increase in the proportion of network members with diabetes predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels from 2019 to 2021 (β=0.044, p < 0.05). Also, a greater proportion of network members consuming \"an American diet\" in 2019 predicted a decrease in participant's HbA1c levels (β=-0.028, p < 0.01), while a greater proportion of network members that encouraged participants' health in 2019 predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels (β=0.033, p < 0.05). Our study sheds light on specific social network characteristics relevant to individual diabetes outcomes, including potential longitudinal mechanistic effects that played out at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"218-228"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10897069/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"2023 Reviewer List.","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s11524-024-00827-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-024-00827-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139576817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sophia Kagoye, Jacqueline Minja, Luiza Ricardo, Josephine Shabani, Shraddha Bajaria, Sia Msuya, Claudia Hanson, Masoud Mahundi, Ibrahim Msuya, Daudi Simba, Habib Ismail, Ties Boerma, Honorati Masanja
{"title":"High Child Mortality and Interventions Coverage in the City of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Are the Poorest Paying an Urban Penalty?","authors":"Sophia Kagoye, Jacqueline Minja, Luiza Ricardo, Josephine Shabani, Shraddha Bajaria, Sia Msuya, Claudia Hanson, Masoud Mahundi, Ibrahim Msuya, Daudi Simba, Habib Ismail, Ties Boerma, Honorati Masanja","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00813-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-023-00813-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The 'urban penalty' in health refers to the loss of a presumed survival advantage due to adverse consequences of urban life. This study investigated the levels and trends in neonatal, post-neonatal and under-5 mortality rate and key determinants of child survival using data from Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys (TDHS) (2004/05, 2010 and 2015/16), AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS), Malaria Indicator survey (MIS) and health facility data in Tanzania mainland. We compared Dar es Salaam results with other urban and rural areas in Tanzania mainland, and between the poorest and richest wealth tertiles within Dar es Salaam. Under-5 mortality declined by 41% between TDHS 2004/05 and 2015/2016 from 132 to 78 deaths per 1000 live births, with a greater decline in rural areas compared to Dar es Salaam and other urban areas. Neonatal mortality rate was consistently higher in Dar es Salaam during the same period, with the widest gap (> 50%) between Dar es Salaam and rural areas in TDHS 2015/2016. Coverage of maternal, new-born and child health interventions as well as living conditions were generally better in Dar es Salaam than elsewhere. Within the city, neonatal mortality was 63 and 44 per 1000 live births in the poorest 33% and richest 33%, respectively. The poorest had higher rates of stunting, more overcrowding, inadequate sanitation and lower coverage of institutional deliveries and C-section rate, compared to richest tertile. Children in Dar es Salaam do not have improved survival chances compared to rural children, despite better living conditions and higher coverage of essential health interventions. This urban penalty is higher among children of the poorest households which could only partly be explained by the available indicators of coverage of services and living conditions. Further research is urgently needed to understand the reasons for the urban penalty, including quality of care, health behaviours and environmental conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139433104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fernando C Wehrmeister, Leonardo Z Ferreira, Agbessi Amouzou, Cauane Blumenberg, Cheikh Fayé, Luiza I C Ricardo, Abdoulaye Maiga, Luis Paulo Vidaletti, Dessalegn Y Melesse, Janaína Calu Costa, Andrea K Blanchard, Aluisio J D Barros, Ties Boerma
{"title":"Identifying and Characterizing the Poorest Urban Population Using National Household Surveys in 38 Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa.","authors":"Fernando C Wehrmeister, Leonardo Z Ferreira, Agbessi Amouzou, Cauane Blumenberg, Cheikh Fayé, Luiza I C Ricardo, Abdoulaye Maiga, Luis Paulo Vidaletti, Dessalegn Y Melesse, Janaína Calu Costa, Andrea K Blanchard, Aluisio J D Barros, Ties Boerma","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00805-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-023-00805-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Identifying and classifying poor and rich groups in cities depends on several factors. Using data from available nationally representative surveys from 38 sub-Saharan African countries, we aimed to identify, through different poverty classifications, the best classification in urban and large city contexts. Additionally, we characterized the poor and rich groups in terms of living standards and schooling. We relied on absolute and relative measures in the identification process. For absolute ones, we selected people living below the poverty line, socioeconomic deprivation status and the UN-Habitat slum definition. We used different cut-off points for relative measures based on wealth distribution: 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%. We analyzed all these measures according to the absence of electricity, improved drinking water and sanitation facilities, the proportion of children out-of-school, and any household member aged 10 or more with less than 6 years of education. We used the sample size, the gap between the poorest and richest groups, and the observed agreement between absolute and relative measures to identify the best measure. The best classification was based on 40% of the wealth since it has good discriminatory power between groups and median observed agreement higher than 60% in all selected cities. Using this measure, the median prevalence of absence of improved sanitation facilities was 82% among the poorer, and this indicator presented the highest inequalities. Educational indicators presented the lower prevalence and inequalities. Luanda, Ouagadougou, and N'Djaména were considered the worst performers, while Lagos, Douala, and Nairobi were the best performers. The higher the human development index, the lower the observed inequalities. When analyzing cities using nationally representative surveys, we recommend using the relative measure of 40% of wealth to characterize the poorest group. This classification presented large gaps in the selected outcomes and good agreement with absolute measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139405023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Affordable Rental Housing Crisis and Population Health Equity: a Multidimensional and Multilevel Framework.","authors":"Danya E Keene, Kim M Blankenship","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00799-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11524-023-00799-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The US is facing a severe affordable rental housing crisis that contributes to multiple forms of housing insecurity including homelessness, crowded and poor quality housing conditions, unstable housing arrangements, and cost burdens. A considerable body of evidence finds that housing insecurity is an important determinant of health. However, the existing literature may fall short of conceptualizing and measuring the full impact of housing insecurity on population health and on racial health equity. In this paper, we seek to expand the conceptualization of housing as a determinant of population health equity by considering housing insecurity as a manifestation of structural racism that intersects with other manifestations and impacts of structural racism to affect, not only the health of housing insecure individuals, but also the health of the networks and communities in which these individuals live. First, we situate the current housing crisis within larger systems of structural racism. We extend prior work documenting the confluence of ways that racist policies and practices have created unequal burdens of housing insecurity to also discuss the ways that the meanings and impacts of housing insecurity may be shaped by racism. Next, we consider how the health impacts of this unequal burden of housing insecurity can extend beyond individual households to affect networks and communities. Ultimately, we provide a multilevel framework that can inform research, policy, and practice to address housing and health equity.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1212-1223"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10728029/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138292187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matthew Murphy, Jaclyn White-Hughto, Josiah D Rich
{"title":"Cruel and Unusual: Reforming Carceral Systems to Protect and Affirm Transgender and Gender-Diverse Communities.","authors":"Matthew Murphy, Jaclyn White-Hughto, Josiah D Rich","doi":"10.1007/s11524-023-00788-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11524-023-00788-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transgender and gender-diverse communities are disproportionately incarcerated in the USA. Incarcerated gender minority populations are detained within carceral systems constructed around a cisgender (gender identity matches sex assigned at birth) binary (only male and female identities recognized) understanding of gender. This leads to marginalizing experiences while perpetuating the extreme vulnerability individuals experience in the community. In order to address this cruel and unusual experience, carceral systems should undergo \"whole-setting\" reforms to protect and affirm transgender and gender-diverse populations. This includes ensuring access to gender-affirming clinical care that aligns with community health standards recommended by medical professional associations. Implementing gender-affirming reforms reduces security issues and will likely improve health outcomes providing mutual benefit for both correctional staff and gender minority populations. Given the current divisive political and social environment for gender minority populations in the USA, evidence-based person-centered reforms in corrections are needed now more than ever.</p>","PeriodicalId":49964,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1190-1192"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10728421/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41168211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}